Inclusion fatigue and irritation: when good intentions backfire

Imagine this: you’re in a meeting room. On the table lies the agenda for an ‘inclusion training’. The atmosphere is awkward. Some colleagues stare at their coffee, while others mutter, ‘why are we doing this, again? We aren’t doing anything wrong, are we?’ As the trainer begins, it feels like the room is filling more with resistance than curiosity. Inclusion fatigue and irritation have set in.

What is inclusion fatigue or irritation, and how does it form?

Inclusion fatigue often sneaks up on you unnoticed. It starts out small: passive reactions, an avoiding gaze, a lack of involvement. But where fatigue is silent, inclusion irritation is audible. You can hear it in frustrated remarks, in the echoes of a sigh during a break.

Both have the same source: good intentions that miss the mark. Organisations want to become more inclusive, but forget to consider where they’re at on the inclusion scale. The result? A mismatch in interventions and the people who have to embrace them.

Think of an organisation that has never discussed diversity and inclusion (D&I) before, but suddenly introduces a mandatory training about how to create an inclusive work environment. Employees feel overwhelmed. They don’t understand why this is suddenly a priority and interpret the training as critique: and it is there, exactly there, that resistance takes shape.

How do you avoid inclusion fatigue and inclusion irritation?

Avoiding this can be done through a step-by-step approach that accounts for the needs and the level of awareness within your organisation. It is about implementing the right interventions, at the right moment, for the right audience. Here are some practical tips:

Start by listening

Before handing out flyers or launch into a presentation, start by talking to your own people. Engage with them, and ask questions that are simple and non-confrontational, like: ‘How does it feel to work here?’, ‘What can we do to collaborate even better?’, ‘do you ever notice colleagues being excluded?’

This way, you’ll hear what actually troubles people and what enthuses them. It creates a basis of trust and helps attuning your interventions to your workplace from the start.

Figure out where you stand now

Inclusion is not a matter of ‘all or nothing’, it is a scale. Organisations are always in flux between an exclusive and an inclusive culture. Try to figure out where your organisation stands first of all; are most of your employees aware of D&I, or is this new terrain for them? This determines whether you should start with awareness or whether you can immediately offer practical tips and tricks.

Take, for instance, a team that has never even discussed matters of inclusion. They’ll need more awareness first. An organisation that’s further along might benefit from concrete tools instead. By knowing where you are on the scale, you can better adapt your interventions to your employees’ needs.

Make inclusion and exclusion tangible

An intervention will only work if employees recognise themselves in it. During a workshop we had the participants experience what it feels like to be excluded. Afterwards, one of them said: “I actually felt powerless. I understand how that can feel to other people, now.” Such experiences will reach people on an emotional level, and help make inclusion a tangible thing.

Don’t just treat inclusion as policy jargon – treat it like a real feeling. The feeling of belonging, of being heard and appreciated, regardless of individual differences.

Involve employees actively

Involving your employees is not just a way to avoid resistance, it forms the very basis of an inclusive work environment. Give employees the space to think along and share what they need to feel involved. They don’t need to know the ins and outs inclusion immediately; what matters is that they feel part of the journey you take.

“This finally feels like something we’re doing together”, said one participant after a three-day workshop in which his input helped shape future plans.

Make inclusion a journey you take together

Inclusion is not a destination, it’s a journey. And, just like any journey, it requires a solid plan, the right means, and above all, cooperation. Inclusion fatigue and inclusion irritation occur when this journey is poorly organised – starting with the wrong timing and too little context.

Perhaps you’re wondering: Where do I start? The answer is simple. Start small, but start. Listen to your colleagues, ask questions, and take small steps that suit the current situation within your organisation. Inclusion needs time, attention, and especially people who actively want to build a culture in which everyone matters.

Don’t want to stop reading?

Do you want to know which pitfalls you might face when implementing inclusion policies, and how to avoid those pitfalls? Download our free checklist below: “The 8 biggest pitfalls that cause inclusion policies to fail – and what you can do about them”.